Safety device for record feeding controls



Feb. 10, 1953 H. R. WOOD 2,627,964

SAFETY DEVICE FOR RECORD FEEDING CONTROLS Filed March 17, 1951 EnventorHAROLD R.WOOD

FIG-l attorneg Patented Feb. 10, 1953 SAFETY DEVICE FOR RECORD FEEDING YCONTROLS Harold R. Wood, Endicott, N. Y., assignor to InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application March lfl, 1951, Serial N 0. 216,230

This invention relates in general to record: feeding devices and moreparticularly to safetyv devices provided for power driven record feedingin the printing machine.- As illustrated in. the

present case the insulation end of an inserted. safety bar acts to closecontacts in series with the. feed clutch magnet and driving motor forthe power driven platen or paper feed rollers, thus insuring that if thesafety bar is not in place the rollers cannot be driven to catch objectsor fingers 3 Claims. (01. 197-127) in the narrow space between powerdriven members and the frame of the machine. Other objects of theinventionwill be pointed out in the following description and claimsand,

Fig: 2 is 'an' enlarged detail partial section showing the insulatedplunger in the safety bar."

As may be seen-in Fig. 1, the platen P is driven to feed a record sheetS bymeans of a trainpf;

gearing and a inotpr lli. On the motor shaft is a driving worm 2| inmesh, with a worm gear wheel 22 attached to a drive gear 23'. The latteris in mesh with a gear 2% attached to one side 25 of a normally open.clutch. C .theother'side'of which is fastened to an operating gear 26.

The clutch C is controlled by a magnet LS which is called into operationunder control of tabulator cards and a feed control tape as set forth inthe Patent No. 2,531,885 to A. W. Mills et al., filed on August 9, 1945,issued November 28, 1950, and in the patent application Serial No.29,535 filed on May 2'7, 1948, by F. J. Furman, now Patent No.2,558,947, issued July 3,1951.

When the clutch C is connected, the gear 26 drives an idler gear 21which is in mesh with a pinion 28 fastened to the platen shaft 29. A

record sheet 8 isguided down into thecbightq between the pressurerollers PR and the platen P by a paper table T which may be considered.aslf part of the carriage frame. As theplaten P .is rotated clockwise,the sheet is advanced. into position relative to th printingline. along.the front. of theplaten. If the platen Pis unprotected, there is-a;dan-.;;- gerous area in the bight between the .paperltable T and theplaten P wherein fingers and objects are subject to being forcibly drawndowninto the; narrow paper path. Since theplatenllis ratherlo stronglyturned, there-is need to preventcrushing i of finger tips and preventdistortion of carriage parts by thewedging of a dropped object such as apencil in the exposed-bight. Therefore, a safety bar SB is-provided asan elongated round cover for the b ight area. :The bar SB does notinterfere'with the insertion of record sheets S but it is close enoughto table T 3' and platen P toprevent anything but a very flat materialfrom being drawn around the platen :Pl Bar SB is loosely and removablymounted between the side frames of the carriage and extends 1 across theentire width of the platen P. Atthef left-end, bar SE is fitted into-ahole or depression 4 in the left side frame 46. At the right end the baris fitted with an'extending insulationplunger the tip of which fits intoa hole in a contact boxf B fastened to the right sideframe. -Inside the'box B is a pair of normally open contacts lfi-the blades of whichiare-spaced and fastenedto thef" box by insulation spacers sothatthe-left'blade is near. the inner wall and nextito the'op-eningfor thetip of the safety barS-B-sothatwhenf-the bar is assembled; the bladeisshoved over'to the: right by the tip and the contacts 45 are closed?"Before describing the clutch andmotor control circuits involvingcontacts 45 it is'believe'd well to note theinterior construction of thesafetyjbarff SB as shown in Fig. 2." 1 ff There it is noted that. .theleft'end of bar SB shaped wi'thareduced end 35 for fitting inttftheopening in frame 46. The right end of the bar is hollowed at 3'! toreceive the sliding insulation plunger 38 which is shaped with a collar39 and an extending tip- 36 which is shaped to fit into the hole in boxB and to extend therein far enough to operate contacts 45. A reducedsection 40 of the bar permits the inward projection of a set screw 43which cooperates with the shoulders of the plunger to act as a limitingstop for its sliding motion.

Against the widened end 4| of the plunger 38 there is pressed one end ofa compression spring 42 assembled in the bottom of opening 31 andtending to keep the plunger 38 extended to hold the bar SB assembledbetween the carriage frames.

The control circuits for the clutch magnet LS and motor M are soarranged that the platen P can be driven only when the safety bar SB isin place. This is done by putting contacts 45 (which are closed onlywhen the bar is in the protective position) in series with the circuitsfor the magnet LS and motor M. It is understood that either control iseffective alone as well as in combination as shown.

Power is applied between the lines LI and L2 by the closure of theswitch PS to the power supply through wire 50. A circuit through feedclutch magnet LS includes line Ll, wires 56, 51, contacts 45 (closedonly by presence of safety bar SB), wires 41 and 54, clutch magnet LS,wire 55, contacts C (representative of other controls as disclosed bythe patent and application referred to hereinbefore) wire 55 and lineL2. Then the clutch C is closed and the platen P is driven to feed therecord sheet.

Of course, in order for the clutch to be effective to drive, the motor Mmust also be operated. The controls for the motor M could be invariableand independent of contacts 45 instead of dependent thereon as shown.However, it is evident that in the case of a continuous train ofgearing, or in an instance involving a fixed closed clutch, it isdesirable to have the motor M under safety control as well as theclutch.

The circuit for the motor M includes line Ll, wires 56, 51, contacts 45,wires 4'! and 53, motor switch MS, wire 52, motor M, wire and line L2.

Therefore either or both the motor drive and clutch control are normallyineffective, but conditioned for operation by insertion of the safetybar SB and consequent closure of contacts 45.

A pair of normally open safety switches SS1 and SS2 are provided toinduce clutch and motor operation independently of the safety contacts45. This is a provision for use when other blocking attachments, such asbill feed devices, etc., block the platen bight and remove the need forthe safety bar. Another instance of the use of switches SS! and SS2 iswhen they are provided only for serviceman use and otherwise hidden fromordinary operation.

Closure of switch SSI provides a circuit for clutch magnet LS throughline Ll, wire 56, switch SSI, wire 54, magnet LS, wire 55, contacts 0Cand wire 50 to line L2.

Closure of switch SS2 operates motor M by a circuit through line Ll,wires 56 and 58, switches SS2 and MS, wire 52, motor M and wire 5| toline L2.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a paper feeding device, a frame therefor, a platen roller mountedin said frame, a main operating means, a clutch between said mainoperating means and said roller, a removable safety bar mounted in saidframe to block objects from being caught between the roller and theframe, a magnet for controlling said clutch, and a circuit for saidmagnet inculding a pair of normally open contacts, said contacts beingclosed by said safety bar when it is mounted in the blocking position.

2. In a record feeding device, a frame therefor, a platen rollerrotatably mounted in said frame, a main operating means for rotatingsaid roller, a clutch between said main operating means and said roller,a removable safety bar mounted in said frame to block objects from beingcaught between the roller and the frame, a magnet for controlling saidclutch, and circuits for said main operating means and said clutchmagnet including a common pair of normally open contacts, said contactsbeing closed by said safety bar when it is mounted in the blockingposition.

3. In a sheet feeding device, a platen roller rotatably mounted in saiddevice, a set of pressure rollers cooperating with the platen, a papertable mounted at a tangent to said platen roller to guide the sheetsthereon, a drive motor, a train of gearing including a clutch betweenthe motor and the platen roller, a magnet for controlling the clutch, anelectric circuit for the magnet including a pair of normally opencontacts, a pair of side frames for the device, one of said frames beingformed with a socket and the other carrying a box, said box containingsaid contacts and formed with an opening adjacent a contact, and aremovable safety rod formed with one reduced end to fit into said socketand containing a spring pressed insulation plunger at the other end,said plunger being formed with a reduced end to protrude into said boxopening and close said contacts, said rod when mounted occupying thebight between the platen roller and paper table and keeping objects frombeing caught therein.

HAROLD R. WOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,244,252 Keen June 3, 1941FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 627,645 Great Britain Aug. 12, 1949

